This paper addresses the convention’s theme of “Mother Nature, A Political Arena” by sharing the research in which I am involved—in 2008 as research assistant, then in 2010 as researcher. This paper relies heavily on two important documents. The primary document is the Mount Matutum Protected Landscape Management Plan, published by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Protected Areas Management Bureau (DENR-PAMB) in 2005 (hereafter referred to as PAMB 2005). The secondary document is the Rapid Site Assessment of the Mount Matutum Protected Landscape (MMPL), an unpublished report of the Ateneo de Davao University research team headed by Dr. Jesse B. Manuta, submitted to the Foundation for the Philippine Environment (FPE) in 2008 (hereafter referred to as Manuta et al. 2008). The second document is currently being updated and will be validated with the primary stakeholders on 26-27 May 2010 at Polomolok, South Cotabato.

This paper was written parallel to the writing of the updates of the MMPL report, which meant I haven’t achieved the distance necessary for reflection. The writing was also frequently disturbed by the administrative work that came my way over the past few weeks. Thus, this paper has not yet reached the philosophical level I was hoping to achieve when I decided a month ago that I will present this subject.

Mount Matutum: A Landscape

Mount Matutum rises like a giant salakot above the wide plains of South Cotabato, Sarangani and General Santos City (SOCSARGEN). Its peak is recorded at 2,286 meters above sea level. Its boundary on the North is Kiblawan and Malalag, Davao del Sur; on the South is General Santos City; on the East is Malungon, Sarangani; and on the West is Banga, Koronadal and T'boli, South Cotabato (http://whc.unesco.org/en/ tentativelists/5028). The area is located within fourteen barangays in four municipalities of two provinces. These are Barangays Kinilis, Landan, Maligo and Palkan of the Municipality of Polomolok; Barangays Albagan, Tablu and Lampitak, of the Municipality of Tampakan; Barangays Acmonan, Cebuano, Kablon, Linan and Miasong of the Municipality of Tupi -- all in the Province of South Cotabato; and Barangays Datalbatong and Datalbila, Municipality of Malungon, Sarangani Province (DENR 2006, 3).

Mount Matutum serves as the headwaters and catchment areas for such major river systems as the Klinan, Silway and Buayan Rivers which empty into Sarangani Bay through General Santos City and Alabel; and the Taplan-Marbel Rivers which empty into Lake Buluan (DENR 2006, 12). It supplies 25 percent of the total water requirements of the SOCSARGEN area (DENR 2006, 1; Manuta et al. 2008, 87).

Mount Matutum typifies an over-logged forestland. Of the total area, 9% is considered closed canopy forest, 15% is open canopy forest, 5% is mossy forest, 52% is grassland, and 19% is agricultural land (DENR 2006, 14). Closed canopy forest means that a “forest canopy is dense enough (60 to 100%) that the tree crowns fill or nearly fill the canopy layer so that light cannot reach the forest floor directly” (http:// tapseis.anl.gov/glossacro/dsp_wordpopup.cfm?wod_id=522). Open canopy forest means that a the canopy has “frequent openings between the tree crowns (leaves) … [It has a] coverage of 25 to 60%” (http://tapseis.anl.gov/glossacro/dsp_wordpopup. cfm?word_id=803). Mossy forest is “a tropical montane forest, typically with contorted trees no more than 10-15 m high with dense crowns, their trunks, boughs, and twigs being festooned with mosses, lichens, and liverworts. The growths of ‘moss’ are particularly luxuriant where mists prevail” (http://www.encyclopedia. com/doc/1014-mossyforest.html).

Mount Matutum is host to diverse plant and animal species including the Philippine Eagle (Pithecopaga jefferyi). According to DENR (2006, 15-25), there are 221 plant species and 116 animal species. One bird specie, the fairy blue bird (Irena cyanogaster) is claimed by DENR (2006, 21) to be listed by Nigel J. Collar and P. Andrew (1988), in their Birds to Watch: An ICBP [International Centre for Birds of Prey] World Checklist of Threatened Birds, as near threatened. Fourteen bird species are said to be classified under the watch list of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) Appendix II (cf. http://www.cites.org/eng/app/ appendices.shtml). (When I tried to validate the DENR list, I cannot find their identified species in any of the CITES appendices.) A Matutum subspecies of snowy-browed flycatcher, the Ficedula hyperythra matutumensis, was identified by Kennedy and published in the Proceedings of the Biological Society on 25 February 1987 (cf. http://www.zoonomen. net/cit/RI/SP/Fedo/fedo00014a.jpg). DENR (2006, 14) adds the Apo Myna (Basilornis miranda), the Mindanao Lorikeet (Trichoglossus johntoniae), the flying lemur (Cynocephalus volans), the Mindanao slender tailed shrew (Urogale everetti), and the Mindanao mountain deer (Cervus nigellus) among “the interesting species for conservation,” because with “the present rate of habitat destruction, these species may be elevated to endangered status.”

Mount Matutum is also populated by human communities. The original settlers are the B’laans, one of the biggest ethnic groups in Mindanao. They occupy the higher areas of the mountain. One of the B’laan communities I visited on 22 March 2010 for the research, Purok 8, Brgy. Kinilis, Polomolok, South Cotabato was recorded by our GPS at an altitude of 1,108 meters above sea level. The farms we visited were recorded at an altitude of 1,300 meters above sea level. Other settlers are Cebuanos and Ilonggos, mostly migrants who were attracted by the rich volcanic soil suitable to agriculture. They occupy the lower areas of the mountain. One of the highest points we recorded of the Cebuano communities, on 23 March 2010, was in Brgy. Albagan, Tampakan, South Cotabato at an altitude of 921 meters above sea level.

Mount Matutum: Protected Landscape

Mount Matutum has become a politically protected landscape. Two Presidential Proclamations and many local and international efforts have provided protection. It was first declared a Forest Reserve, then later declared a Protected Landscape.

Mount Matutum as Forest Reserve

The first political protection provided was Presidential Proclamation No. 293, which declared on 14 August 1964, that 14,008 hectares of Mount Matutum and its surrounding areas is a Forest Reserve. A forest reserve is an area that enjoys a judicial and/or constitutional protection (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reserve_forest) usually “to protect a habitat and the wildlife that lives within it, with only restricted admission for the public” (http://encyclopedia.farlex.com/Forest+Reserve). The proclamation may have been an attempt to stop the legal logging being done on Mount Matutum as part of the Timber License Agreements issued by the government. This proclamation was not enough protection, however, as “deforestation and illegal conversion of its areas to agriculture use” was not prevented.

In 1992, the comprehensive “Mindanao Growth Plan” prepared by the Louis Berger International, lead consulting firm of the Department of Agriculture, “identified the Mount Matutum Forest Reserve as one of the critical watersheds that need to be properly managed due to its vital role of supplying fresh water to South Cotabato, Sarangani, and General Santos City (SOCSARGEN)” (DENR 2006, 1). But, the plan required a Matutum Integrated Conservation and Development Program (MICADEV) as a major component, since “the continuous practice of slash and burn farming and illegal logging” left Mount Matutum with “only 3,500 hectares of good forest cover” (ibid.).

MICADEV undertook many activities. Among these activities are: biological resource profiling conducted by the Mindanao State University-General Santos Foundation, Inc. (MSU-GSFI) in 1995; socio-economic survey; inventory of local development plans; community natural resource development planning; indicative planning (DENR 2006, 2); social and community preparations; sustainable livelihood projects; conservation projects; and networking and resource mobilizations (Manuta et al. 2008, 4). MICADEV tried to preserve what remained and rehabilitate what was destroyed of the environment. At the same time, MICADEV also provided the communities within and around the Mount Matutum area with livelihood programs that would redirect them from their previous destructive economic activities.

These activities were funded by many local and international donors. The preparatory phase was funded by the Foundation for the Philippine Environment (FPE). The vegetable production project in Polomolok, South Cotabato was funded by the Australian Agency for International Development – Philippine-Australian Community Assistance Program (AusAID-PACAP). The livelihood activities were funded by the Philippine-German Development Foundation (PhilGerFund), the Manos Unidas Campaña Contra El Hambre (Campaign Against Hunger), the Peace and Equity Foundation (PEF), and the Lutheran World Relief (LWR). The tree-planting activities were funded by the Manos Unidas Campaña Contra El Hambre (Campaign Against Hunger), FPE, AusAid-PACAP, and Mahintana Foundation, Inc. (MFI). The food processing initiatives in Polomolok was partly funded by the Philippine Development Assistance Program (PDAP). The social service infrastructure projects such as potable water supply and health stations were funded by the Peace and Equity Foundation (PEF) through the Coalition of Social Development Organizations (CSDO).

Aside from its strategic activities, MICADEV also campaigned for Mount Matutum’s inclusion in the National Integrated Protected Areas System (NIPAS) provided under Republic Act 7586 of 1992 (http://www.chanrobles.com/ legal3denrpawb.html).

NIPAS is defined as “the classification and administration of all designated protected areas to maintain essential ecological processes and life-support systems, to preserve genetic diversity, to ensure sustainable use of resources found therein, and to maintain their natural conditions to the greatest extent possible” (Sec. 4). NIPAS established seven (7) categories of protected areas: strict nature reserve; natural park; natural monument; wildlife sanctuary; protected landscapes and seascapes; resource reserve; and natural biotic areas. It also provided for other categories “established by law, conventions or international agreements which the Philippine Government is a signatory” (Sec. 3.h).

These seven categories of protected areas have been defined in the NIPAS. A strict nature reserve is “an area possessing some outstanding ecosystem, features and/or species of flora and fauna of national scientific importance maintained to protect nature and maintain processes in an undisturbed state in order to have ecologically representative examples of the natural environment available for scientific study, environmental monitoring, education, and for the maintenance of genetic resources in a dynamic and evolutionary state” (Sec. 4. k). I do not know of any area in the Philippines that has been declared as a strict nature reserve. A natural park “is a relatively large area not materially altered by human activity where extractive resource uses are not allowed and maintained to protect outstanding natural and scenic areas of national or international significance for scientific, educational and recreational use” (Sec. 4. h). Mount Apo and Tubbataha Reefs (Palawan) have been declared natural parks. A natural monument “is a relatively small area focused on protection of small features to protect or preserve nationally significant natural features on account of their special interest or unique characteristics” (Sec. 4. f). The Chocolate Hills of Bohol has been declared a natural monument. A wildlife sanctuary “comprises an area which assures the natural conditions necessary to protect nationally significant species, groups of species, biotic communities or physical features of the environment where these may require specific human manipulation for the perpetuation” (Sec. 4. m). Agusan Marsh and Mount Hamiguitan Range (Davao Oriental) have been declared wildlife sanctuaries. A protected landscape or seascape is an area “of national significance which [is] characterized by the harmonious interaction of man and land while providing opportunities for public enjoyment through recreation and tourism within the normal lifestyle and economic activity of these areas” (Sec. 4.i). Batanes and Taal Volcano have been declared protected landscapes/seascapes. A resource reserve “is an extensive and relatively isolated and uninhabited area normally with difficult access designated as such to protect natural resources of the area for future use and prevent or contain development activities that could affect the resource pending the establishment of objectives which are based upon appropriate knowledge and planning” (Sec. 4. j). El Nido and Taytay (both in Palawan) have been declared managed resource protected area. A natural biotic area “is an area set aside to allow the way of life of societies living in harmony with the environment to adapt to modern technology at their pace” (Sec.4.g). Coron Island (Palawan) has been declared a natural biotic area. (For justifications on the classifications of the areas, cf. http://whc.unesco.org/en/ tentativelists/state=ph.)

Mount Matutum as Protected Landscape

Within two years of the MICADEV’s work, the second political protection for Mount Matutum was declared. Presidential Proclamation No. 552 by President Fidel V. Ramos on 20 March 1995, declared 15,600 hectares of Mount Matutum as Protected Landscape. While the earlier proclamation assumed that Mount Matutum was a publicly restricted area, this later proclamation assumed that Mount Matutum is a publicly open area. As such, the PAMB that locally manages the protected landscape must establish management zones that allows for “the harmonious interaction of man and land while providing opportunities for public enjoyment through recreation and tourism within the normal lifestyle and economic activity of these areas (NIPAS, Sec. 4.i).

The Mount Matutum Protected Landscape was subdivided by PAMB into eight (8) zones. These zones are the strict protection zone, the restoration zone, the habitat management zone, the multiple-use zone, the cultural zone, the recreational zone, the special use zone, and the buffer zone.

The strict protection zone includes areas with high biodiversity value. It is closed to all human activities except scientific studies on flora and fauna, traditional ceremonial or religious use by indigenous communities, mountain trekking through designated trails or routes, and harvesting of existing free trees such as coffee, coconut and cacao. It is estimated to initially cover an area of 2,551 hectares, which represents the current area of the remaining intact forest. This area will be gradually expanded to include areas that will be regenerated as part of the restoration and protection efforts. (DENR 2006, 72.)

The restoration zone includes areas of degraded habitats where the long-term plan is to restore it to its natural habitat with its associated biodiversity and eventually rezone the area to strict protection level or whatever is appropriate. The allowable activities are tree planting and related development interventions, gathering of herbal plants by indigenous peoples, and existing residence of qualified migrants who have been in the area before 1987. Prohibited activities are new occupancy, tree extraction, building construction in any form, economic activities that require regular tillage of land, hunting of wildlife and gather of plants such as orchids and other wild and rare species, extraction/utilization of other resources like minerals, and construction of major roads. The activities to be implemented in the zone are designed to help reverse the decreasing natural habitat area and its related biodiversity from complete loss. The degraded habitats subject to restoration are the areas of lowland evergreen, mid-montane, and mossy forest. The estimated total area for restoration is 4,667 hectares. (DENR 2006, 74f.)

The habitat management zone includes areas with significant habitat and species values where management practices are required periodically to maintain specific non-climax habitat types or conditions required by rare, threatened or endangered species. Examples of these areas are the breeding and roosting ground of birds and mammals, and the areas with unique flora located in Tupi. Only research and management activities limited to data gathering, survey and observation of species in the area are allowable activities. Prohibited activities are entry without permit, gathering of rare species of plants and animals, and hunting and destroying/ disturbing of habitats. The estimated total area for this zone is 7o hectares. (DENR 2006, 75.)

The multiple use zones are the areas where settlement, traditional and/or sustainable land use, including agriculture, agroforestry, sustainable extraction activities, and other income generating or livelihood activities may be allowed for as long as these are within the carrying capacity of the areas’ natural resources and part of the PAMB-approved community resource management plan. The allowable activities are regulated agriculture and residence for qualified migrants who have been in the area on or before June 1987. Regular agriculture means that on level or moderate (0-18%) slope, agricultural production, including backyard livestock and poultry, is allowed with PAMB clearance and approval; on rolling terrain (19-30%) slope, only agroforestry is allowed; and on steep (30% and up) slope, only forest tree plantation is allowed. Prohibited activities are new settlements after June 1987, all forms and types of heavy industries, industrial plantation, and use of unregistered motorized equipment (e.g., chainsaw). The estimated total area for this zone is 6,186 hectares. (DENR 2006, 75f.)

The cultural zones are the areas with significant cultural, religious, spiritual or anthropological values for the B’laan tribe. The allowable activities are the practice of spiritual and religious traditions of the B’laan, the exercise of B’laan customs and ceremonies, and the use of ceremonial objects and repatriation of human remains. Prohibited activities are permanent entry and occupancy, and any unauthorized or unlawful use of the area as per Section 10 of Republic Act 8371 or the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (IPRA) of 1997 (http://www.chanrobles.com/republicactno8371. htm), which states: “Unauthorized and unlawful intrusion upon, or use of any portion of the ancestral domain, or any violation of the rights herein before enumerated, shall be punishable under this law. Furthermore, the Government shall take measures to prevent non-ICCs/IPs from taking advantage of the ICCs/IPs customs or lack of understanding of laws to secure ownership, possession of land belonging to said ICCs/IPs.” The estimated total area for this zone is 30 hectares. (DENR 2006, 76.)

The recreational zones are areas of high recreational and tourism value. The designated areas contain unique landforms such as waterfalls, rivers, caves, hot springs, crater or peak of Mount Matutum, etc. Allowable activities are the construction and management of facilities that will support ecotourism activities such as swimming, trekking, camping, picnics, bird watching, and other activities authorized by PAMB, and the putting up of municipal and barangay tourism sub-offices. Prohibited activities are entry without permit, collection of flora and fauna, building of fire at the peak, campsite or any place within MMPL, littering and vandalism, minors going inside the landscape without parental supervision, and bringing of cutting tools and firearms except for camping knife and for those duly authorized by law. The estimated total area for this zone is 175 hectares. (DENR 2006, 76f.)

The special use zone includes areas with proposed and existing installations of national significance, such as telecommunication facilities, irrigation canals that supply water to agricultural lands, facilities for power generation, and basic support services facilities (i.e., health education, potable water supply, etc.). The estimated total area for this zone is 18 hectares. (DENR 2006, 77f.)

The buffer zone is measured starting from the boundary of the MMPL to 500 meters going inward. The designated buffer zone is designed to provide a social fence to prevent encroachment into the protected area by outsiders. Land tenure may be granted to qualified occupants. The estimated total area for this zone is 1,803.2 hectares. (DENR 2006, 78.)

PAMB’s implementation of the management policies and guidelines on the zones was based on two documents. One was PAMB Resolution No. 16, series of 1998. The other was the Memorandum of the DENR Secretary to the PAMB Chair, dated 17 May 1999, affirming the PAMB Resolution.

Despite this documentary support, however, PAMB recognized their lack of institutional capacity to implement their management policies and guidelines. The position of Protected Areas Superintendents (PASUs) designated by DENR is a temporary and additional assignment only, which led to the fast turn-0ver of personnel. No record in the DENR of “any specific fund allocation that has been programmed for the management of the Landscape” has been known. The PAMB has also been affected by the constant reshuffling and re-assignment of DENR Regional Directors, Regional Technical Directors, and Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Officers, from whose ranks the Chair of the PAMB is chosen, as provided by the NIPAS Act (DENR 2006, 40).

Beginning May 1999 until June 2005, the Southern Mindanao Integrated Coastal Zone Management Project (SMICZM), the Overseas Economic Cooperation Fund (OECF), DENR-XI, and the local government units undertook a project to strategically integrate the management of the coastal and watershed ecosystems. They “focused on the rehabilitation and reforestation of denuded and open areas of the Mount Matutum watershed” (Manuta et al. 2008, 5). Among the project’s components were “enrichment planting (500 hectares), community-based agroforestry (1,500 hectares), and rattan plantation (200 hectares) … riverbank rehabilitation through the planting of bamboo and other vegetation (800 hectares) along the riverbanks of Silway, Buayan and Klinan Rivers” (ibid.). As of 2003, SMICZMP claimed (in Manuta et al. 2008, 67) that conservation interventions in the MMPL include 3.84 hectares of agroforestry, 37.56 hectares of assisted natural regeneration (ANR), 74.30 hectares of enrichment planting, 12.22 hectares of rattan plantation, and 4.35 hectares of reforestation. The 289 hectares of individual agroforestry farm lots, however, are the major contributing initiatives.

To bolster the protection of the landscape, DENR’s Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau (PAWB) enlisted international recognition. It submitted on 16 May 2006 the Mount Matutum Protected Landscape to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage tentative list. It sought for recognition of the MMPL as a “natural heritage around the world considered to be of outstanding value to humanity” which needed to be protected and preserved (http://whc.unesco.org/en/ about). The submission was possible because the MMPL was able to meet two (out of ten) selection criteria (http://whc.unesco.org/en/ criteria), namely:

criterion ix: an outstanding example "representing significant on-going ecological and biological processes in the evolution and development of terrestrial, fresh water, coastal and marine ecosystems and communities of plants and animals"; and

criterion x: containing "the most important and significant natural habitats for in-situ conservation of biological diversity, including those containing threatened species of outstanding universal value from the point of view of science or conservation."

In 2007, the Foundation for Philippine Environment (FPE) commissioned Ateneo de Davao University to conduct a Rapid Site Assessment (RSA) of the Mount Matutum Protected Landscape (MMPL) for biodiversity measurement in project management, monitoring and evaluation. As the RSA is “still developmental in nature and can still be improved over time” (Manuta et al. 2008, 6), the Ateneo research team continues to fill up data gaps regarding the state of the MMPL. What is emerging though is a picture of Mount Matutum as more of a contested, than a protected landscape.

Mount Matutum: Contested Landscape

The Mount Matutum Protected Landscape is a politically contested landscape. PAMB pointed out that there are conflicts in the various land tenurial instruments issued by various government agencies. The conflicting instruments have led to overlapping claims by the holders of the instruments. They have created conflicts between the use of the land and what is prohibited in a protected landscape. They have created jurisdictional conflicts among government agencies. The validity and legality of such instruments has been a frequent agendum, which remained unsolved, in various PAMB meetings (DENR 2006, 36).

One conflict is that between the DENR-PAMB and the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP). DENR-PAMB designated a portion of the MMPL as a strict protection zone. The strict protection zone is supposed to be off limits to lasting occupancy, though it allows temporary activities like research, indigenous religious rituals, trekking, and harvesting of fruits from already existing trees (cf. supra 5). NCIP, on the other hand, under the IPRA, awarded 89.95 hectares of land within the strict protection zone, as part of the Certificate of Ancestral Domain Claim (CADC) of the B’laans of the Municipality of Malungon, Province of Sarangani (cf. Manuta et al. 2008, 97). The CADC gives the B’laans the right to develop lands and natural resources (IPRA, Sec. 7b) within the strict protection zone. IPRA provides, however, that “ancestral domains or portions thereof, which are found necessary for critical watersheds, … protected areas, forest cover, or reforestation as determined by the appropriate agencies with the full participation of the ICCs/IPs concerned shall be maintained managed, and developed for such purposes. The ICCs/IPs concerned shall be given the responsibility to maintain, develop, protect and conserve such areas with the full and effective assistance of the government agencies” (Sec. 58).

A second conflict is that among the DENR-PAMB, the NCIP, the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), and the DENR itself. DENR-PAMB designated a portion of the MMPL as a restoration zone. The restoration zone is supposed to be an area restricted to reforestation so that over time, the strict protection zone could be increased (cf. supra 6). Other government agencies, however, issued tenurial instruments violating the prohibitions within the zone. NCIP awarded 295.45 hectares of the restoration zone to the B’laans of Malungon as part of their CADC. DAR issued Certificates of Land Ownership Agreements (CLOAs) to individuals amounting to 87.46 hectares of the restoration zone. The CLOAs give the holders rights over the land which can conflict with those prohibited in the zone. Even the mother department of PAMB, DENR issued a Community Based Forestry Management Agreement (CBFMA) with individuals for 27.11 hectares of the restoration zone (cf. Manuta et al. 2008, 97). The CBFMA does not give the holder absolute ownership, though giving the right for the use and produce of the land for 25 years and renewable for another 25 years.

A third conflict is that between NCIP and DAR on the cultural zone. The cultural zone is supposed to be prohibited from permanent entry or occupancy of non-IPs. A CADC or a CADT should be issued to the IPs of the area. However, as no CADC nor CADT has yet been issued for the MMPL’s cultural zone within the province of South Cotabato, the Provincial NCIP designated a land surveyor to prepare the data on actual coverage of the CADC to be issued. In the course of his field work, the surveyor discovered that DAR already issued CLOAs covering 25.81 hectares of land within the cultural zone (cf. Manuta et al. 2008, 97); other non-IPs were also conducting their own land surveys for application of additional CLOAs. NCIP filed official protests against DAR without result. They were in the middle of their preparations for filing legal cases to invalidate the DAR-issued CLOAs and to restrain DAR from issuing more CLOAs when NCIPs surveyor was shot dead by hitmen allegedly hired by land owners. When we visited the NCIP Provincial Office in Koronadal City, South Cotabato in April 2007, the surveyor’s death was just a few months old, and no other surveyor wants to fill in the vacant post. NCIP cannot proceed with its legal cases against the CLOAs nor with its issuance of CADCs because of lack of necessary data.

Conclusion

Is Mount Matutum a protected or a contested landscape?

We have shown that there had been efforts on the part of national government to protect Mount Matutum. The Presidential Proclamations tried to provide legal bases for efforts to protect the area. The Department of Agriculture before and the DENR-PAMB now tried to manage the area to live up to the proclamations. DENR even tried to gain worldwide recognition and support to Mount Matutum as a protected landscape by submitting it to the UNESCO World Heritage project.

There is the concerted effort on the part of local government units, non-governmental organizations, peoples organizations, and local and international funding agencies to initiate activities that can help actualize the proclamations. There are outcomes that clearly manifest that something positive is happening in Mount Matutum. The forests are thickening again. The biodiversity of flora and fauna are being maintained.

And yet, one cannot help but notice also that national government agencies are nullifying many of the protection efforts by their issuances of tenurial instruments in areas they should have avoided. The Department of Agrarian Reform issued Certificates of Land Ownership Agreements (CLOAs) in strict protection, restoration, and cultural zones. The National Commission on the Indigenous Peoples issued a Certificate of Ancestral Domain Claims (CADC) in strict protection and restoration zones. Even the Department of Environment and Natural Resources issued Community-Based Forestry Management Agreements (CBFMAs) on restoration zones.

In all these contestations, the DENR’s Protected Areas Management Bureau (PAMB) is caught in the middle and is expected to solve these issues. But, as they have pointed out, they may have the mandate, but they do not have the resources that will allow them to solve the issues.

The Mount Matutum Protected Landscape is not yet truly protected. It is still a contested landscape. Ω

References:

CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora). The CITES Appendices. <http://www.cites.org/eng/app/index.shtml>. Downloaded 13 April 2010.

DENR (Department of Environment and Natural Resources). 2006. Mount Matutum Protected Landscape Management Plan. South Cotabato. Unpublished.

Manuta, Jesse B., Napoleon D. Amoyen, Lourdes R. Simpol, Rosalinda C. Tomas, Julie B. Otadoy, Romeo C. Bayawa, Randy S. Abeto, and Virgilio G. dela Rosa. 2008. Rapid Site Assessment of the Mount Matutum Protected Landscape (MMPL). Unpublished.

UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization). 1992-2010. World Heritage. <http://whc.unesco.org>. Downloaded 13 April 2010.